Our Story

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s the few Methodist from Galax met in the Union Church along with the Baptist of Galax. The pastor the Oldtown Circuit (which covered all of Carroll County west of Hillsville and Grayson County east of the New River) would preach at the church once a month. In 1904 a committee of Galax Methodists was appointed to raise funds for a church building. The building was completed in 1906 on the corner of West Center Street and North Monroe Street. In the early years, the church remained part of the Oldtown Circuit and one of the highlights of each year were the well attended revival services with guest evangelists and song leaders.

The church soon outgrew the original building and added a lean-to on the west side of the building to accommodate the adult Bible Study class. During excavation for a heating system for the church in the early 1920’s, a portion of the foundation and wall of the church collapsed. After numerous attempts to repair the damage, the church decided to replace the building. The replacement building (still in use today) was completed in 1927 and provided a Sanctuary and Sunday School classrooms. Between 800 and 900 persons attended the first service in the new building. The church persevered through the early years of the Great Depression with debt from the new building, but managed to retire the debt so the church could be dedicated in 1934.

In the late 1920’s, our congregation was concerned about the spiritual needs of the people living in west Galax, and so we secured a store building for the West Galax Mission. We provided much of the leadership and financial assistance for this ministry until in the West Galax Methodist Church was organized in 1935.

In 1958, the church began to purchase additional property to provide space for our growing congregation. After renovation, the former parsonage and later one of the additional houses became the Methodist Youth Center and provided space for our youth (and youth from the community) to meet. In 1964 the church built an education building and remodeled the original building. More renovations were done in the 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s. Included in these renovations was the addition of a lift, a major rebuilding of the pipe organ, and a major renovation of the sanctuary that made the overflow room next to the sanctuary a permanent part of the sanctuary, enlarged the choir loft, and moved the pulpit toward the center of the renovated sanctuary.

If you are looking to find a church in Galax, VA, please visit The First United Methodist Church of Galax. We would love to have you join our congregation.